8.25am: (all times BST) Welcome to Middle East Live. Widespread protests are expected in both Syria and Bahrain today. In Syria, it is the first Friday since the arrival of a small team of UN observers sent to monitor an incomplete ceasefire. Will their presence encourage more demonstrators to take to the streets in post-Friday prayer rallies? In Bahrain, pro-democracy activists plan to start three 'days of rage' as practice sessions for Sunday's controversial grand prix get under way.

We have to keep Assad off balance by leaving options on the table ... we have to increase our support for the opposition. I can only speak for the United States. I know that others are pursuing different types of support. But we are expanding our communications, logistics, and other support for the Syrian opposition. And in cooperation with Turkey, we are considering establishing an assistance hub that will try to co-locate Syrian activists and help them coordinate the collection and distribution of assistance to opposition groups inside Syria

On their right, their bid for mainstream respectability left a vacuum, which the Salafis hastily filled. In order not to be overly threatening, the Brothers declared they would not nominate anyone for president – but then went back on that pledge, presumably because they did not like seeing their members inspired by Aboul Futuh and Abu Ismail candidacies. This abrupt and dramatic reversal of a high-profile pledge has done much to erode the perception that the Brothers in any way represent a higher, more principled form of politics.

There isn't a single candidate I find either qualified or deserving to lead revolutionary Egypt, and I don't believe the elections will be free or fair – how can they be, under a military junta that has run Egypt since 18 days of revolution forced Hosni Mubarak to step down on 11 February 2011? ...I look at this "choice" and hear the tortured justifications made in their favour and they sound awfully similar: hollow.

The whole point of overthrowing Mubarak was that we had ended fear. The revolution continues, not just to end military rule but to provide alternatives to the best of the worst. We still have a way to go.

8.57am:Bahrain: On the eve of the first grand prix practice session, protests flared in villages surrounding the capital, far from the circuit where the race will be held, according to Reuters.

Police fired tear gas and stun grenades to disperse demonstrators in clashes that have been building in the week leading to Sunday's round of the World Championship.

Several hundred demonstrators tried to stage protests in the capital, Manama, on Thursday. Police broke up the protesters, who are vowing to intensify their actions over the three-day race meeting.

However, it was not clear if al-Wefaq, the leading Shia opposition party, would organise large rallies, as this could open it to government accusations of acting against the nation's interest. Wefaq has said it is not against staging the race.

Manama is under tight security, with police stationed on bridges linking the capital to the rest of the country and the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir.

Activist Ala'a Shehabi has this update on injuries from last night's unrest:

Welcome 2 #BahrainGP#F1Disgrace. At least 20 injured last nite from shotgun pellets-prob more than the number of foreign fans attending #F1

The advance mission already authorized by the Council, while still small, is an important test of whether the Syrian government will allow the effective operation of UN monitors.

The onus remains on the Syrian authorities to demonstrate that it will allow these monitors to do their job, and that's why the role of the advance team is so important. We could authorize—theoretically, the Council could authorize tomorrow the full complement of observers, but if they are not able to move freely, if they're not able to visit the hot spots, if their freedom is hindered then they won't be effective. And obviously we all have a shared interest in any monitoring mission being effective.

10.06am:Bahrain: A journalist from the Financial Times is the latest to be denied entry to Bahrain. Simeon Kerr, who reports for the FT from Dubai, tweeted last night that he had been refused entry at the airport.

back in Dubai after #Bahrain refused #FT entry at airport. shame to have to cover this vital#F1 weekend at a distance.

10.32am:Bahrain: The government's enthusiasm for hosting the grand prix is based partly on the idea of "country branding" – the hope that it will boost Bahrain's image internationally – and a claim that it is worth $600m to the kingdom's economy.

Bahrain pays a hosting fee, thought to be around $40m, which it can only partially recoup from ticket sales, though it also benefits from sales of food, drink and merchandise at the race track.

The $600m figure comes from a study in 2008 – based mainly on the knock-on effect for other businesses such as hotels and the state-owned airline.

Kinninmont suggests the economic benefits this year are likely to be less than expected, while the "country branding" effects will be negative rather than positive. She concludes:

Bahrain still remains largely safe for Westerners. But it can no longer claim to be the oasis of liberalism and tolerance that it once sought to brand itself as. The country has struggled to attract any significant new investment over the last year (with the main exception being a Saudi media company), and a recent survey by regional recruitment specialists Gulf Talent showed that its attractiveness to professional expats has diminished significantly. The F1 media spotlight will only highlight the ongoing troubles Bahrain faces in the absence of any serious attempts at political compromise.

A defector told The Times that he and 27 colleagues working at the Minakh air base near Azaz had decided to join the rebels after a pilot boasted to them of the death and destruction he was causing.

"We were shocked," said the former sergeant, whose job was to load the helicopters with fuel and missiles. "We felt so guilty." He was so appalled that he decided to defect and recruited other members of the military at the air base, north of Aleppo. Twenty-eight of them made their break on February 29.

Further down the Times warns that there is to no way to corroborate the sergeant's story.

Reports of air attacks on demonstrators in Tripoli last year, which later turned out to be false, played a crucial role in the imposition of a no-fly zone over Libya, according to Hugh Roberts former North Africa project director at International Crisis Group.

On 21 February the world was shocked by the news that the Gaddafi regime was using its airforce to slaughter peaceful demonstrators in Tripoli and other cities. The main purveyor of this story was al-Jazeera, but the story was quickly taken up by the Sky network, CNN, the BBC, ITN et al. Before the day was over the idea of imposing a no-fly zone on Libya was widely accepted, as was the idea of a Security Council resolution imposing sanctions and an arms embargo, freezing Libya's assets and referring Gaddafi and his associates to the ICC on charges of crimes against humanity. Resolution 1970 was duly passed five days later and the no-fly zone proposal monopolised international discussion of the Libyan crisis from then on.

11.10am:Bahrain: Kate Walker (@F1Kate), a journalist who covers Formula One, has been giving her first impressions of Bahrain – and discovering some misogynist attitudes. She writes on her blog:

Arriving in the paddock this morning, I was part of a small group of journalists introduced to opposition MP Jasim Husain.

He shook our hands, answered questions about his opinion on the wisdom of holding the 2012 Bahrain Grand Prix, and handed out business cards to all of the men in the group.

Despite having been introduced to Mr Husain as a working journalist, I was denied a business card. Apparently the opposition's desire for equality does not extend to treating women with the same respect as men.

Not only was this hypocritical of Mr Husain, but it was very bad PR. I arrived in the country sympathetic to his calls for equality for all Bahrainis. Now, having been made to feel like a second-class citizen by a man who claims to be fighting for equal treatment for all, I have a very different perspective on his cause.

She also notes the heavy security presence:

Armed police by the side of the road to the circuit today. #Bahrain#F1

11.17am:Bahrain: The Guardian's Paul Weaver reports on the mood of unease among the F1 teams preparing for today's practice session.

Walking in the paddock is to feel an atmosphere I have never experienced before in Formula One, which is usually so full of energy and enthusiasm. There is a feeling of unease, sometimes fear, everywhere.

No-one wants to be quoted by name but one engineer told me: "I don't think we should be here. There's a lot kicking off and a demo down the road this afternoon. We're in the firing line."

Another said: "I don't know much about the politics. There are 20 races this season, which makes it a long year, so I think a few of the lads just want to get home early."

11.40am:Bahrain: The Force India team have pulled out of second practice at the Bahrain grand prix so they can return back to their hotels before dark, Paul Weaver reports.

It comes after four of their team were involved in a petrol bomb incident.

11.49am:Bahrain: A TV crew from CNN has been forced to leave Bahrain, according one of the channel's journalists:

Was informed that our #Bahrain visas would not be extended. Our crew had to leave the country yesterday.

12.08pm:Syria: The UN observer mission needs to ensure that Syrians have the freedom to protest against Bashar al-Assad's regime, French foreign minister Alain Juppé said today in a TV interview reported by AFP. He suggested that once this happens the regime will fall:

We need observers on the ground, but properly equipped observers with helicopters that can ensure the right to protest. It's extremely important. The day this freedom is guaranteed, the regime will not stand.

12.22pm:Bahrain: Human rights activist Ala'a Shehabi has accused former Metropolitan police commissioner John Yates of buying into the Bahraini government's denial of abuses.

She also confirmed that at least 20 protesters were injured by birdshot in last night's unrest.

Speaking via Skype from her home in Bahrain, Shehabi, who founded Bahrain Watch, said the country was in a security lock down ahead of Sunday's grand prix.

There are police cars everywhere, and reports of tanks being seen on the highways leading up to the circuit.

Youth groups are planning to march on the highway leading up to the circuit this afternoon. But the police have been deployed very heavily in that area. The events around the three days of rage will kick off this afternoon. I expect there to be a big turn out.

I shall be taking part this afternoon. It [the grand prix] is a blessing in disguise. Having the presence of many journalists is very much welcome. We hope that access is given to journalist all year round. Scores of journalists have been turned back at the airport over the last week.

Asked about the risks of identifying herself as an activist, Shehabi said:

Across the Arab world activists like myself have dropped the mask of fear. Very few households in Bahrain haven't had someone who has been sacked from their job, who has been arrested, who knows someone who has been killed. If you have nothing left to lose, you have nothing left to fear either.

Speaking about the day of the grand prix itself Shehabi said:

Apologies for the poor quality of the audio at the start. It gets better.

I hope activists can think of new ways to protest and get their message across without resorting to more militant means. I also hope the government allows people to protest peacefully without having to suppress them violently using stun grenades, birdshot and teargas. The NGO that I founded Bahrain Watch has just released a study showing an escalation in the use of birdshot.

Shehabi responded: "I've been involved in the documentation of torture cases in the last few months, and some of them have been horrific. They involve electrocution, threats of rape, beatings, whipping. Some of these are on YouTube so we can offer him these videos."

She also claimed that Yates assertion that Bahrain was safer than London was "preposterous".

She said: "It is very unfortunate that they've used John Yates to be pretty face of a very ugly regime. And that he has allowed himself to be part of that."

12.43pm:Bahrain: It's all getting rather rather nasty out there, with two more teams involved in trouble, writes Paul Weaver at the circuit.

The latest is the Sauber team. A spokesman has just said: "Yesterday night at 10.30pm a minibus of the Sauber F1 Team had left the circuit to go back to the Novotel in Manama. At 10.50pm the twelve mechanics being on that bus noticed fire on the medial strip of the highway. The traffic was slow, cars had their hazard flashers on. On the opposite lane there was no traffic. The team members saw a few masked people running from there over to their lane where a bottle was burning as well. The mini bus moved to the very right side of the highway and went passed the situation. No one from the Sauber F1 Team was hurt."

There are also rumours that Force India had another problem last night, on the way home. And yet another team, as yet unnamed, had their hotel invaded in the night by protesters who screamed "Murderers" at them.

Meanwhile, Bernine Eccleston has just arrived to say the race goes on unless it is called off by the Bahrain government, and suggesting that stories of unrest have been exaggerated.

He said: "You guys want a story and it's a good story and if there isn't a story you make it up like usual, Nothing changes.

The political thing is going in so many countries. These things happen. We are not here to get involved in politics.

There are many more countries higher up the priority list that you should be writing about. Go to Syria and write about those things because it is more important here."

Asked about new reporters being refused visas he said: "Have they got all the right documents? If they have, they should be allowed in. I can't call this race off. We have an agreement to be here. The National Sporting Authority can ask the FIA if they could."

1.01pm:Bahrain/Britain: Labour leader Ed Miliband today urged prime minister David Cameron to add his voice to calls for the cancellation of the Bahrain Grand Prix.

Miliband said that it would send out the wrong signal for the Formula 1 motor race to go ahead on Sunday at a time of concern over human rights abuses in the Gulf state, the Press Asociation reports.

"I certainly think it is the case that, given the violence we have seen in Bahrain and given the human rights abuses, I don't believe the Grand Prix should go ahead," he said. "I hope that the government will make its view clear and say the same."

Labour party leader Ed Miliband. Photograph: Anthony Devlin/PA

Although the prime minister's official says the British government is "concerned" about the violence in Bahrain, it has refused to be drawn on whether the race should go ahead. "It is not for us to dictate what sporting events happen in other countries," a No 10 spokeswoman said.

1.12pm:Tunisia: The trial of Nabil Karoui, which we covered in yesterday's live blog, has been adjourned until 3 May, when a verdict is expected.

Karoui is accused of "violating sacred values" and "disturbing public order" by broadcasting the film Persepolis on the TV channel that he owns. The trial is widely seen as a test of where post-revolution Tunisia stands in relation to religion.

The debate in the courtroom went far beyond the legal details of the case, and showed a clear awareness on both sides of the trial of the larger political implications of the eventual verdict.

The prosecution argued that freedom of expression should be limited by what they called "responsibility," which seemed to imply not violating what Tunisian Muslims considered holy. The attorneys for the defence appealed to Tunisia's reformist history with respect to religious diversity ...

The discourse of the prosecutors was predominantly religious. Verses from the Quran were used to justify the case and "the need to defend God on earth".

Similar numbers appear to have taken to the streets of Aleppo, according to this clip.

Smaller, but still significant protests, were filmed in Kafranabel, in the north west, and Hama and Homs in the centre.

2.00pm:Syria: The activist group the Local Coordination Committees in Syria claims 27 people have been killed today, including nine in both Homs and Idlib.

2.16pm:Bahrain: Speaking to journalists a few minutes ago above the noise of racing cars and with Formula 1 chief Bernie Ecclestone at his side, Bahrain's crown prince said cancelling the grand prix would empower extremists.

"Having the race has actually prevented extremists from doing what they think they need to do, out of world's attention," he said.

Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa acknowledged that security forces had been "heavy-handed last year" but said the protests in the kingdom had nothing to do with Formula One.

He denied that the government was using the race for political purposes.

"What we're trying to do is use any positive event for the benefit of our nation ... we're trying to use it for the people's benefit."

The Prince also compared the protests in Bahrain to last summer's riots in England. "You had these problems in your country last year," he told a British reporter.

2.22pm:Bahrain: Asked about the denial of visas for news journalists the Crown Prince passed the buck. "That's not my decision," he said. "You'll have to ask the government on that one. I personally feel that anyone who wants to come to the country should come."

He added: "Protests are part of the political process in any country. Why should our openness relative to our neighbours be used against us."

He insisted that police officers found guilty of "heavy-handed" tactics would be held to account. But he added: "Likewise protesters shouldn't be given a green light as if they were holier than thou, when they themselves are violent. So I condemn violence from all sides."

3.16pm:Syria: Fifteen members of the security have been killed in two separate bomb attacks in southern Syria, according to the the state news agency Sana.

To release Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, one of 14 men in prison for leading an uprising last year, would be a comedown for a government that has failed to quell a movement led by majority Shias seeking democratic reforms that would reduce the Sunni dynasty's power.

But his death would be a disaster, creating a martyr who would galvanise the street and risk spoiling government efforts to persuade western allies that reform at the pace of its choosing is working.

3.46pm:Bahrain: Tens of thousands of anti-government protesters have flooded a major highway in Bahrain, according to AP.

Protesters are shouting slogans against the ruling Sunni dynasty, which is the main backer of the Grand Prix race that was cancelled last year due to political unrest.

4.15pm:Syria: The United Nations hopes to get permission from the Syrian government in the coming days to send more aid workers to help at least a million people in need of urgent assistance, a top UN humanitarian official said today.

Syria has recognised there are "serious humanitarian needs" and that action is required, but logistical issues and visas for aid workers are still being discussed, John Ging of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) told reporters in Geneva.

He was speaking after a meeting of the Syrian Humanitarian Forum to discuss a $180m assistance plan for six months. Reuters says the aid plan, drawn up after a joint assessment mission conducted with Syrian officials last month, aims to provide food and medical assistance, as well as kitchen sets for displaced families who have lost their homes and cash payments for those sheltering them.

Separately, the UN refugee agency has appealed for $84m for more than 60,000 Syrian refugees who have fled to Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey and Iraq. But it has received only 19% of the funds, UNHCR spokeswoman Melissa Fleming told a briefing.

Syria's ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, Faysal Khabbaz Hamoui, attended the closed-door talks along with representatives of donor countries, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, the Arab League and European Union's humanitarian office (ECHO).

Speaking separately to reporters, Hamoui said it had been a constructive meeting but accused some delegations of trying to politicise humanitarian aid. "We are ready to cooperate but we hope they come to enter the house from the front door, not the window," he said. "We don't have any crisis in Syria, it is not Somalia."

4.43pm:Bahrain: The hacking group, Anonymous, claims to have defaced a Formula One website, f1-racers.net. The main page of the official Formula One website, formula1.com is currently unavailable, allegedly because of a DDOS (Distributed Denial Of Service) attack.

Bahrain

• Tens of thousands of anti-government protesters took to the streets of Bahrain today as Formula One teams practised ahead of Sunday's grand prix. Police are reported to have used stun grenades and teargas against at least one group of demonstrators.

• Bahrain's crown prince said cancelling the grand prix would empower extremists. He denied that the government was using the race for political purposes: "We're trying to use it for the people's benefit," he said.

• Britain's Labour leader, Ed Miliband, has urged the prime minister to add his voice to calls for the cancellation of the Bahrain Grand Prix.

• A TV crew from CNN has been forced to leave Bahrain. Other news organisations report that some of their journalists are not being allowed into the kingdom.

Syria

• Some of the largest demonstrations for weeks have taken place across Syria, according to video footage from activists.

• The Local Coordination Committees activist group claims 27 people have been killed today, including nine in both Homs and Idlib. Fifteen members of the security forces have been killed in two separate bomb attacks in southern Syria, according to the the state news agency Sana.

5.56pm: The Yemeni air force has killed nine suspected militants in two air raids in southern Yemen's restive Abyan province on Friday, according to a local official quoted by Reuters.

It comes a day after the army said it killed 18 insurgents in a counter-offensive in the same area.

"Five armed elements were killed in one of the Yemeni air force attacks and four in another," the local official told Reuters. Both raids were on positions of Ansar al-Sharia (Partisans of Islamic Law) near the town of Lawdar, in Abyan province.

More than 200 people have been killed since government forces stepped up their attacks on al Qaida-linked militants who assaulted a military camp near the town last week

The Defence Ministry said earlier on its website that the army had killed 18 militants on Thursday while pushing back Ansar al-Sharia fighters from several positions near Zinjibar, their stronghold and the capital of Abyan province.

6.07pm: Media freedom groups have been accussing Bahrain of using this weekend's Formula One motor race as a propaganda exercise to improve its international image, saying it wants to stop journalists reporting on anti-government protests.

"Bahrain wants the international attention brought by hosting a Grand Prix but doesn't want foreign journalists to wander from the race track where they might see political protests," said Robert Mahoney, deputy director of the Committee to Protect Journalists in New York.

"Bahrain tells the outside world it has nothing to hide. If that's the case then it must allow journalists entry visas and let them report freely," said, according to Reuters.An official from the Information Affairs Authority said more than 200 journalists from various media organsiations had entered the country to cover the race, including from the news agencies Associated Press, Agence France Presse and Reuters.

"We always knew and expected coverage of events in Bahrain as part of the context of the F1 being held so one can hardly claim we are trying to squelch coverage on events in Bahrain," said the information agency's spokeswoman. "We also have invited non-sports related journalists who were unable to get a visa for this week to apply to come after the race."

6.27pm: Here's part of a text which has been put up on a Formula One website, f1-racers.net, which the hacking group, Anonymous claims to have defaced.

We demand the immediate release of human rights worker Abdulhadi Alkhawaja who has spent over 70 days on hunger strike. He has committed no crimes and is being punished by the regime for advocating people's basic human rights. Free him and all other political prisoners in Bahrain. End torture. Deport all mercenary police and stop the use of tear gas against civilians.

We Do Not Forgive. We Do Not Forget. Expect Us.

The main page of the official Formula One website, formula1.com is meanwhile still unavailable, allegedly because of a DDOS (Distributed Denial Of Service) attack.

6.34pm: Mark Sweney, the Guardian's media business correspondent, has filed a piece on the Bahraini authorites' denial of entry to a number of journalists from news organisations.

They include journalists from including Sky, which holds the UK TV rights to broadcast this weekend's controversial Formula One grand prix from the Gulf state.

6.44pm: The Libyan government took control of Tripoli's international airport today from the militia that has run it since Muammar Gaddafi was deposed last year.

The move, reported by Reuters, is an important step in its struggle to assert its authority over numerous armed groups.

The ruling National Transitional Council now faces the challenge of showing it can maintain security and operate the North African country's busiest airport, which reopened last November in the hands of the powerful Zintan militia.

"Tripoli airport is now under the government's control. We have today transferred power to the interior, defence and transportation ministries," Zintan militia spokesman Adel Salama said in a speech at the handover ceremony.

"We hope the government is able to take on and maintain such an important task."

Elders and tribal leaders from Zintan, government and military officials gathered at the airport to witness celebrations for the handover, which followed months of argument about jobs and salaries for the militia's members.

Nuri al-Maliki accused Turkey's premier of interfering in internal Iraqi affairs and of sectarianism, according to the AFP news agency.

"The latest statements of (Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip) Erdogan are another return to the process of interfering in Iraqi internal affairs and it confirms that Mr Erdogan is still living the illusion of regional hegemony," Maliki said in a statement posted on his website.

"It is regrettable that his statements have a sectarian dimension which he used to deny before but which have become clear, and are rejected by all Iraqis," Maliki added.

"Insisting on continuing these internal and regional policies will damage Turkey's interests and makes it a hostile state for all," he said.

After closed-door talks on Thursday with Massud Barzani, the president of the autonomous Kurdistan region in north Iraq, Erdogan accsued Maliki of taking an "egocentric approach" in politics.

"The current prime minister's treatment toward his coalition partners, his egocentric approach within Iraqi politics... seriously concern Shiite groups, Mr Barzani and the Iraqiya group," the main Sunni-backed political bloc, Erdogan was quoted by local media as saying.

On the north side of the island, an estimated 50,000 pro-democracy demonstrators had gathered. Here the explosions came from tear gas rounds and guns as police fired at protesters to try to disperse them.

"It's terrible up here," one eyewitness said. "The police are using a combination of tear gas and pepper spray. There are also rubber bullets. The crowd is huge, tens of thousands. It seems there will be lots of trouble tonight. There is going to be a big protest in Manama, the capital, and also in the villages."

At the circuit's media centre, pictures started circulating among the gathered journalists of protesters on the highway running north being attacked by police.

Out in the paddock, meanwhile, the mood was sullen, with members of the 12 Formula One teams unhappy that the race will take place against a background of violence and oppression.

The Force India team left first, refusing to take any part in the second practice session in the afternoon after four of the team were involved in a petrol bomb incident on Wednesday night.

Beside them in the paddock is the Sauber team, who reported that a number of the personnel had been confronted by masked protesters on Thursday evening.

Another team reported that a protester had entered their hotel and screamed: "Do you know that by being here you have killed 80 people!"

7.40pm: The Bahrain Grand Prix is a test for Britain's policy of engagement and diplomacy with such regimes, according to Jane Kinninmont, a senior research fellow at Chatham House (The Royal Institute of International Affairs).

In a comment piece for The Guardian, she says that UK officials hope that by engaging with Bahrain, they can support a process of locally led reforms that will make the country's political situation more stable and sustainable.

Quietly, they are seeking support for legal reforms designed to make the security services more accountable in the wake of last year's Bahrain International Commission of Inquiry, which found the security services had used excessive force and systemic torture.

These are potentially important, but the impact of legal changes is not being felt on the ground, and there is understandable cynicism about promises of future accountability.

The escalation of protests around the race, and the desire to keep protesters away, has led the police to return to their former practice of firing birdshot in the Shia villages around the capital, Manama.

7.49pm: An update now from Syria, where activists say that Syrian troops fired tear gas and bullets on thousands of protesters who spilled out of mosques after noon prayers Friday.

The Associated Press news agency reports that Syrian state media said that bombs and shootings killed 17 soldiers as the latest diplomatic efforts failed to halt more than 13 months of bloodshed in the country.

Opposition activists reported that at least 11 Syrian civilians were killed in regime shelling and other attacks Friday, the main day of the week for protests calling for the ouster of President Bashar Assad.

8.12pm: Ian Black, the Guardian's Middle East editor, has filed a news story taking an overview of the situation in Bahrain, where tens of thousands of anti-government protesters confronted police during the final preparations for Sunday's showcase grand prix. Here is some of it:

The [Bahrain] government tried to put a positive spin on the race, releasing a poll conducted for the Bahrain Economic Development Board which found 77% support for the grand prix. It said: "Appropriate and responsible measures are being taken to maintain security throughout the event." An official also complained of "unbalanced coverage".

But the race is providing a golden opportunity for the opposition to advertise its grievances at a moment of rare and intense international attention. Fears are growing for the fate of Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, a jailed activist, who has been on hunger strike for more than two months and is said to be close to death.

The banned Bahrain Freedom Movement issued a statement in London. "The race between human values and evil is intensifying as the F1 prepares for its most controversial race in what has now become widely known as 'Bloody Bahrain'," it said.

"The anger of the people has never been greater as scores of activists are swiftly rounded up, tortured and locked up by the forces of John Timoney (a former US police chief) and John Yates (the former Met police chief). Their aim is to forestall serious protests, disturbances or any kind of revolutionary act.

8.38pm: Thanks for your comments below the line here, where Bahrain seems to be the main theme.

daffyddwThis is John Yates equivalent of an "Away day" training course- expect him to be employed as a consultant by the Met within the next couple of years

iamnotwiseHow anyone could continue to support F1 after this is beyond me. How anyone could like it in the first place is also a mystery.

grumpsalotWhen you consider that this is supposedly a human rights issue I presume everyone (on this forum) who are opposed to the GP going ahead are also on record as opposing the Chinese GP last week.I'd hate to think you're all just little Ed's and joining him on the band wagon.

conanthebarbarianOh and where were you activists for 30 years of Northern Ireland troubles? I must have missed you asking for the Northern Irish sporting world to come to a standstill due to their religiously motivated issues. Were sports and politics different in those days. It's funny how F1 is the only sporting event that shouldn't happen in Bahrain, a mixture of political opportunism and jealousy methinks.

CatchYourselfOn9The F1 race in Bahrain should not be happening, full stop!It has the world's attention back on the Bahrain protestors, and they are rightly taking advantage of that with their day of rage.If there are any deaths or serious injuries as a result of these protests this weekend, the FIA will be culpable alongside the Bahraini regime.

9.43pm: First editions of tomorrow's UK newspapers have been coming coming out.

The Independent splashes on its front page with the headline: 'Rage Against the Formula One machine' under a sub-head of 'Thousands protest against Bahrain Grand Prix as organisers and stars remain defiant', under a sub-head of 'Thousands protest against Bahrain Grand Prix as organisers and stars remain defiant'.

9.49pm: Here is a tweet from Khalid Alkhalifa, verified by twitter as the account of Bahrain's foreign minister, or as the account holder describes himself: 'Diplomat,Ambassador,Foreign Minister of Bahrain,Reader,World traveler,Bon Vivant'.

Media today saw examples of freedoms of speech and assembly in #Bahrain . While others enjoy the race .. Or a meal somewhere . Life goes on

Even looked at from the Bahraini side, Yates seems an eccentric hire. There are only two tenuously sane explanations for his appointment.

The first is that the Bahraini king was only in possession of outdated news cuttings, and imagined he was hiring the heroic Yates of the Yard of popular newspaper lore circa 2008. (You may since have developed suspicions as to why he was so popular with certain of those papers.)

The second explanation is that the king is secretly a self-saboteur who wishes to be overthrown by protesters. Because the thing about Yates of the Yard, as closer students of his oeuvre will have noted, is that he never gets his man.

I'm sure he'll have binbags of evidence of people plotting against the king, and will spend at least 20 minutes deciding that there's nothing to see here.

• Bahrain's crown prince, Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, called the event "a force for good" and warned that cancelling it would "empower extremists." But others said the high-profile sporting fixture should be stopped.

• Britain's Labour leader, Ed Miliband, has urged the prime minister to add his voice to calls for the cancellation of the Bahrain Grand Prix.

• A TV crew from CNN has been forced to leave Bahrain. Other news organisations report that some of their journalists are not being allowed into the kingdom.

Syria

• Some of the largest demonstrations for weeks have taken place across Syria, according to video footage from activists.